Goods movement at Canada¡¯s busiest port is slowing to a crawl as striking container truckers dig in for a protracted labour dispute that could cost billions in shipping backlogs.

Last week, Canada¡¯s Transport Minister appointed respected negotiator Vince Ready to conduct an independent review of trucking operations, but his findings aren¡¯t expected until the end of May. In the interim, unionized and non-union truckers, some 1,400 drivers in all, have walked off the job in protest of low wages and long wait times at terminals, an action Port Metro Vancouver (PMV) officials estimate is costing the port some $885 million per week.

¡°The members are strong, they¡¯re telling me that normally 3,000 trucks go through here in a day and so far they¡¯ve seen about 20 or 30,¡± Gavin McGarrigle, B.C. area director of the Unifor-Vancouver Container Truckers¡¯ Association (VCTA), told Metro by phone Monday afternoon from a protest line at the Vanterm container terminal in northeast Vancouver. ¡°We think the economic pressure is such that something has to give. Our members are united across the industry, their solidarity is legendary.¡±

It¡¯s a complicated labour dispute: unlike longshore or rail workers, whose employers belong to industry associations that act as regulators, truckers say their employers have no central regulatory body. In its absence, drivers say it¡¯s a Wild West scenario, with some 150 employers allegedly undercutting each other in what the striking drivers are calling a race to the bottom, saying it no longer makes sense for them to put their rigs on the road when current earnings barely cover the cost of gas.

¡°The trucking companies¡¯ so-called rights to undercut each other shouldn¡¯t impact the right of container truckers to earn a decent living, or for shippers and customers to have an efficient port. So this needs to be regulated,¡± said McGarrigle, adding there¡¯s no rush for members to get back on the job until the industry gets overhauled. ¡°Sure, you¡¯re losing money to stay at home, but you¡¯re also losing money to go to work.¡±

Nobody is physically blocking entrances to port facilities, but protest lines have formed at port entrances and pickets are growing at the offices of the truckers¡¯ many employers. Port Metro Vancouver, meanwhile, having previously insisted it was business as usual at its terminals, now admits the dispute is having a massive financial impact.

¡°The work stoppage continues to have a negative effect on port operations, as we see about 10 percent of the normal container truck traffic accessing terminals,¡± said PMV spokesman John Parker-Jervis in an email. ¡°We agree that truckers must be paid a fair rate, but we are not the employer and cannot interfere directly with employment and contract agreements between truckers and trucking companies.¡±

McGarrigle said drivers welcomed the involvement of Vince Ready to try to mediate a deal, but said the government-appointed negotiator needs to be given a stronger mandate to immediately improve drivers¡¯ financial position.

Port Metro Vancouver is Canada¡¯s largest port by volume, trading $172 billion in goods per year.